Jake Ellenberger (28-6 MMA, 7-2 UFC) said his cautious approach to fighting Jay Hieron (23-6 MMA, 0-3 UFC) may not have riled fans, but it definitely saved his career.

“Being patient is not something that I’m very good at, so it’s working a new angle and maturing,” Ellenberger told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio). “It’s good to get the win and move forward.”

Ellenberger got back on the winning track with a unanimous-decision victory over the veteran in a rematch of their 2006 meeting in the now-defunct IFL.

The bout, which was rescheduled from the canceled UFC 151 event, served as the FX-televised co-main event of UFC on FX 5, which took place at this past Friday, Oct. 5, at Target Center in Minneapolis.

Ellenberger said he probably won’t fight again until early next year and declined to call out an opponent.

A six-fight win streak for “The Juggernaut” was put to a violent halt by Hieron’s Xtreme Couture teammate, Martin Kampmann, at The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale earlier this year. Ellenberger was knocked out by a series of knees and lost a possible shot at the winner of an upcoming title0unification bout between welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre and interim champ Carlos Condit.

Ellenberger said his chief goal was to avoid a repeat of the mistake that led him to his setback.

“I’ve been working a lot with a boxing coach, and he’s been helping me with my footwork and distance and just being more patient,” he said. “I’m most vulnerable when I start going forward and attacking a little recklessly like I did with Kampmann. So I had a little more patience then when I fought Kampmann, but that was definitely the strategy with Jay.”

The audience at Target Center hardly appreciated the strategy on display and booed the fighters as the bout went into the third frame. Ellenberger and Hieron appeared hesitant to engage for any meaningful length of time, and even Ellenberger silently expressed frustration that his opponent was out of reach. Likewise, Hieron told MMAjunkie.com Radio that he was thrown off when Ellenberger didn’t charge forward as before.

Ellenberger acknowledged it was close but thought he did enough to win the fight, which served as his third meeting with a flagship member of Xtreme Couture.

“There’s definitely things where you look back and see things where you can improve and do better, but I’ve got a lot of respect for Jay,” Ellenberger said. “I’ve trained with him before. Obviously, we’ve fought before. I’m very familiar with the guys from Xtreme Couture. They all train hard; they’re all great fighters. I knew Jay was a dangerous guy coming into [our second fight]. I had to really stick to my strategy and fight smart.

“It wasn’t the most exciting fight, but I’m pleased overall. The fight went exactly how I expected it to go. I knew it was going to be one of those close fights, and we know each other well. I’m glad it’s over.”

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